Six Royal Geelong Yacht Club boats ventured west for the 2022 Gunners Office Equipment, Fireball Australian Championship hosted by Portland Yacht Club.

The 15-boat fleet was mainly Victorian boats with only 2 South Australian boats attending due to COVID-19.

RGYC was very well represented with six boats entered.

  • Josh White and Peter James in “The Big Bang Theory”
  • Susannah Gillam and Andrew Butler in “Whats the Story”
  • Nick and Simon Gunner in “Scatter Gun”
  • Glen Purnell and Ben Doak in “Fred”
  • Myles Gavin and Ben O’Brien in “Hot Wire”
  • And finally the wild card entry of 13-year-old Josh Garner skippering “Return of the Jedi” with Brendan on wire.
The first 5 races were sailed in trying conditions, 18 to 25 kts from the SE and a large Portland swell. Glen and Ben (new-to the class) managed to complete most races in particularly difficult conditions, with Josh and Brendan negotiating the conditions well.
Susannah and Andrew saw some moments of speed while Josh and Peter were always in contention. Nick and Simon Gunner managed some second places along with Myles and Ben also in the top three.The next 5 races were held in lighter conditions with a range of 5 to 15kts with a nasty chop on top of the left-over swell from the days before. Josh and Brendan reveled in these lighter conditions gaining a 3rd place in race 6. Susannah and Andrew, and Josh and Peter were always dangerous in these conditions with Glen and Ben showing real determination while gaining valuable experience.

It was a credit to the Portland race committee getting all 10 races in with a good range of conditions. The championship was fought out between the two South Australian boats and past Australian champion Heather McFarlane and Chris Payne with only 5 points separating the three boats. Jalina Thompson and Nathan Shockley won the event with consistent sailing followed by Ben Schulz and Joal Mackenzie with Heather Macfarlane and Chris Payne 3rd. Best placed Geelong Boat was Myles Gavin and Ben O’Brien finishing 5th overall.

Congratulations to RGYC’s Josh Garner for winning the youth trophy and Susannah Gillam for winning the female skippers trophy.

For full results please follow the links below.
Overall Results
Handicap Results

RGYC will be hosting the Fireball World Championships in February, 2024.